Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.5
3.2
Journals
Energies
Special Issues
Agriculture and Energy
energies-logo
Submit to Energies Review for Energies Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Agriculture and Energy

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2016) | Viewed by 42791

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Filippo Sgroi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Piazza Marina, 61, 90133 Palermo, Italy
Interests: agricultural economics; agricultural policy; food policy; management and accounting; management of the farms; energy policy; microeconomics; macroeconomics; macro-development; income inequality; political economy; public policies; natural resource economics; economics of fisheries; fisheries policy; innovation; economic growth and development; rural livelihoods; rural development policies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, concerns over global warming have elicited a growing attention on the part of economic policies, reflected in the adoption of measures to promote energy production from renewable sources. Correspondingly, the agricultural sector has been clearly impacted by this phenomenon as well. In effect, the economic and policy incentives for business investments in energy production have occasioned the somewhat disorderly, if not “messy”, emergence of a so-called “agro-energy sector”, i.e., the production of energy from natural sources, such as wind and sun, as well as the cultivation of crops whose products are destined for the production of fuels. The production of energy by farms customarily comes under the heading of "multifunctional agriculture" aimed at ensuring the environmental sustainability of the relevant production processes, thus striving to develop farming practices in harmony with the socio-economic features and environmental resources available at the local level. This Special Issue focuses on articles that analyze, from a theoretical and methodological viewpoint, if and how the energy obtainable from these agricultural production processes can contribute to growth of businesses while improving their overall profitability.

 

Prof. Dr. Filippo Sgroi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • energy
  • agricultural policy
  • energy policy
  • incentive policies
  • agro-energy
  • renewable energy

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

2800 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Agronomic Feasibility of Bioenergy Crop Cultivation on Marginal and Polluted Land: A GIS-Based Suitability Study from the Sulcis Area, Italy
by Giuseppe Pulighe, Guido Bonati, Stefano Fabiani, Tommaso Barsali, Flavio Lupia, Silvia Vanino, Pasquale Nino, Pasquale Arca and Pier Paolo Roggero
Energies 2016, 9(11), 895; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9110895 - 31 Oct 2016
Cited by 35 | Viewed by 7302
Abstract
In the context of environmental sustainability there has been an increasing interest in bioenergy production from renewable resources, and is expected that European biofuel production from energy crops will increase as a consequence of the achievement of policy targets. The aim of this [...] Read more.
In the context of environmental sustainability there has been an increasing interest in bioenergy production from renewable resources, and is expected that European biofuel production from energy crops will increase as a consequence of the achievement of policy targets. The aim of this paper is to assess the agronomic feasibility of biomass crop cultivation to provide profitable renewable feedstocks in a marginal and heavy-metal polluted area located in the Sulcis district, Sardinia (Italy). Results from literature review and unpublished data from field trials carried out in Sardinia were analysed to establish the main agronomic traits of crops (e.g., yield potential and input requirements). A Geographical Information System (GIS)-based procedure with remotely sensed data is also used to evaluate the land suitability and the actual land use/cover, considering a future scenario of expansion of energy crops on these marginal areas avoiding potential conflicts with food production. The results of the review suggests that giant reed, native perennial grasses and milk thistle are the most suitable energy crops for this area. The land suitability analysis shows that about 5700 ha and 1000 ha could be available for feedstock cultivation in the study area and in the most polluted area, respectively. The results obtained from land suitability process and agronomic evaluation will serve as a base to support technical and economical feasibility studies, as well as for the evaluation of environmental sustainability of the cultivation in the study area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agriculture and Energy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

1275 KiB  
Article
Interdependencies between Biofuel, Fuel and Food Prices: The Case of the Brazilian Ethanol Market
by Deborah Bentivoglio, Adele Finco and Mirian Rumenos Piedade Bacchi
Energies 2016, 9(6), 464; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9060464 - 17 Jun 2016
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 5866
Abstract
Brazil is currently the world’s largest sugar producer and exporter, as well as the world’s largest producer and consumer of sugarcane ethanol as a transportation fuel. The growth of this market originates from a combination of government policies and technological change, in both [...] Read more.
Brazil is currently the world’s largest sugar producer and exporter, as well as the world’s largest producer and consumer of sugarcane ethanol as a transportation fuel. The growth of this market originates from a combination of government policies and technological change, in both the sugarcane ethanol processing sector and the manufacture of flex-fuel vehicles. In recent years however, ethanol production has been questioned due to its possible impact on food prices. The present paper aims to explore the impact of Brazilian ethanol prices on sugar and gasoline prices. The relationships between a times series of these prices are investigated using a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), supported by Granger Causality tests. In addition, Impulse Response Functions (IRFs) and Forecast Error Variance Decompositions (FEVD) are computed in order to investigate the dynamic interrelationships within these series. Our results suggest that ethanol prices are affected by both food and fuel prices, but that there is no strong evidence that changes in ethanol prices have an impact on food prices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agriculture and Energy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

1514 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Spatial Heterogeneity of Individual Preferences for Ambient Heating Systems
by Cristiano Franceschinis, Riccardo Scarpa, Mara Thiene, John Rose, Michele Moretto and Raffaele Cavalli
Energies 2016, 9(6), 407; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9060407 - 25 May 2016
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4650
Abstract
The estimation and policy use of spatially explicit discrete choice models has yet to receive serious attention from practitioners. In this study we aim to analyze how geographical variables influence individuals’ sensitivity to key features of heating systems, namely investment cost and CO [...] Read more.
The estimation and policy use of spatially explicit discrete choice models has yet to receive serious attention from practitioners. In this study we aim to analyze how geographical variables influence individuals’ sensitivity to key features of heating systems, namely investment cost and CO2 emissions. This is of particular policy interest as heating systems are strongly connected to two major current environmental issues: emissions of pollutants and increased use of renewable resources. We estimate a mixed logit model (MXL) to spatially characterize preference heterogeneity in the mountainous North East of Italy. Our results show that geographical variables are significant sources of variation of individual’s sensitivity to the investigated attributes of the system. We generate maps to show how the willingness to pay to avoid CO2 emissions varies across the region and to validate our estimates ex-post. We discuss why this could be a promising approach to inform applied policy decisions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agriculture and Energy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

349 KiB  
Article
Agricultural Business Strategy: Theory and Methods for Cost-Effectiveness Investment Analysis in Agro-Energy Production
by Sonia Prestamburgo and Mario Prestamburgo
Energies 2016, 9(4), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9040273 - 06 Apr 2016
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5210
Abstract
Environmental change is currently considered a high-priority matter, both in the scientific community at large and at the institutional level of national and international governing bodies. Actually, an all-out effort seeks to investigate and advance viable solutions to deal with the global emergencies [...] Read more.
Environmental change is currently considered a high-priority matter, both in the scientific community at large and at the institutional level of national and international governing bodies. Actually, an all-out effort seeks to investigate and advance viable solutions to deal with the global emergencies regarding to anthropic climate change; increasing demands for renewable sources of energy, technological innovation and energy-saving systems, ecological and environmental sustainability of natural resources and land. At the core of this worldwide endeavour an increasingly significant role seems destined to the agricultural sector and to agro-energy production systems for the potential benefits in terms of production costs. In fact, the interest in unconventional and low-impact energy sources mandates thorough investigation not only into the advantages, in terms of availability and affordability, but also into the impact on the environment and the quality of the landscape, as well as the aspects regarding the overall measures that need be adopted so as to enable the supply on the market. Given this scenario, the wide-ranging agro-energy question would be incomplete without extensive economic sustainability analyses, serving as operational decision-support tools to measure cost-effectiveness regarding investments in agro-energy production and its use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agriculture and Energy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

1046 KiB  
Article
Biochar as Additive in Biogas-Production from Bio-Waste
by Daniel Meyer-Kohlstock, Thomas Haupt, Erik Heldt, Nils Heldt and Eckhard Kraft
Energies 2016, 9(4), 247; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9040247 - 29 Mar 2016
Cited by 58 | Viewed by 10657
Abstract
Previous publications about biochar in anaerobic digestion show encouraging results with regard to increased biogas yields. This work investigates such effects in a solid-state fermentation of bio-waste. Unlike in previous trials, the influence of biochar is tested with a setup that simulates an [...] Read more.
Previous publications about biochar in anaerobic digestion show encouraging results with regard to increased biogas yields. This work investigates such effects in a solid-state fermentation of bio-waste. Unlike in previous trials, the influence of biochar is tested with a setup that simulates an industrial-scale biogas plant. Both the biogas and the methane yield increased around 5% with a biochar addition of 5%—based on organic dry matter biochar to bio-waste. An addition of 10% increased the yield by around 3%. While scaling effects prohibit a simple transfer of the results to industrial-scale plants, and although the certainty of the results is reduced by the heterogeneity of the bio-waste, further research in this direction seems promising. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agriculture and Energy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

2152 KiB  
Article
Predictive Control Applied to a Solar Desalination Plant Connected to a Greenhouse with Daily Variation of Irrigation Water Demand
by Lidia Roca, Jorge A. Sánchez, Francisco Rodríguez, Javier Bonilla, Alberto De la Calle and Manuel Berenguel
Energies 2016, 9(3), 194; https://doi.org/10.3390/en9030194 - 14 Mar 2016
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 8346
Abstract
The water deficit in the Mediterranean area is a known matter severely affecting agriculture. One way to avoid the aquifers’ exploitation is to supply water to crops by using thermal desalination processes. Moreover, in order to guarantee long-term sustainability, the required thermal energy [...] Read more.
The water deficit in the Mediterranean area is a known matter severely affecting agriculture. One way to avoid the aquifers’ exploitation is to supply water to crops by using thermal desalination processes. Moreover, in order to guarantee long-term sustainability, the required thermal energy for the desalination process can be provided by solar energy. This paper shows simulations for a case study in which a solar multi-effect distillation plant produces water for irrigation purposes. Detailed models of the involved systems are the base of a predictive controller to operate the desalination plant and fulfil the water demanded by the crops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agriculture and Energy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-6
Back to TopTop